Cross-Cultural Non Verbal Communication

Because we live in a shrinking global village, more and more people from different cultures are interacting with each other so it is important to learn appropriate gestures and non verbal communication to avoid conflicts or international business negotiation failures.

More than ever before, multicultural companies and organizations need to be educated and trained to the subtleties of non verbal communication, including potentially powerful gestures and even silence. Nonverbal communication is determined by our sociocultural environment. Some cultural differences relate to body language, body space, body touch and paralanguage.

The 93%/7% rule

Many people affirm that human communication consists of 93 % of non-verbal behavior and paralanguage and only 7% from words. I don’t say it is not true but most people who quote those numbers do not know where they come from. It is Albert Mehrabian‘s work done in the 1960s that is the source of these statistics but he later stated that this is a misunderstanding of his findings ! It seems to me that more recent studies should be used as references in human communication in today’s trainings, presentations or articles.

In conclusion:

Although many people are aware of non verbal communication few scientific studies have been done in multicultural contexts. In many popular American shows, “experts” tell how to find signs that somebody is lying such as not looking straight in the eyes but what might be valid in the US culture may be considered very rude by people coming from other cultures.

In addition, with the global use of new technologies like video cameras on PCs , SMS and other mini blogging sites such as Twitter, research must be conducted on how those tools affect virtual cross-cultural communication and what the impact of non face-to-face body language.

Thanks Marian for your comment. NVC across-cultures remains a topic which has not been investigated extensively which is surprising in the era of globalization. Maybe it is too subjective to really get good data ?

Hi Anne, Excellent post! Your work is interesting because you’re doing the international version of what I do within organizations. Awareness, or a lack thereof, is a big component even in the relative microcosm of a company. I’ve had a couple of clients, in leadership, who were not aware that their people were watching their body language and taking cues—they protested they were saying the right things, but their body language countered.

Interesting comment. Body language is like Jazz, a lot of improvisation makes the same piece of music interpreted in so many subjective ways so you love it or your hate it but cannot ignore it. Emotional Intelligence is being able to perceive what others see or feel through their own filters.

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Global Leadership Coach & International Career Consultant

I leverage my 25+ years international career in various managerial functions: R&D, Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Operations (P&L) to help international managers adapt their leadership style to local cultures, develop global leadership.

I also coach expatriate spouses to help them define their personal project, career change and job search.

I am a Rescue Padi Diver, Zumba addict and Jazz singer, I am passionate, curious, an everyday learner, creative with communicative energy to inspire my clients reach their full potential.

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